Any consumer:

• who is a natural person; and
• resides in Luxembourg or another EU Member State; and
• who has an issue with a professional (natural or legal person) established in Luxembourg.

The dispute must be in connection with a sales or service agreement.

Any professional:

• who is involved in a commercial, industrial or artisanal activity, or exercising one of the liberal professions; and
• who may be either a natural or legal person.

Professionals may also refer to an out-of-court dispute resolution body:

• a contractual dispute with a consumer residing in Luxembourg,
• if permitted by this body.

Contracts not covered by the rules on out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes

The rules on out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes do not apply to:

• out-of-court settlement procedures if the natural persons tasked with resolving the dispute are employed or paid exclusively by the professional concerned;
• claims processing systems managed directly by the professional;
• non-economic services of general interest provided by the State or other public authorities;
• disputes between professionals;
• direct negotiations between consumers and professionals;
• attempts made by a court to settle a dispute in the course of legal proceedings;
• healthcare services provided by healthcare professionals (doctors, hospitals, etc.) patients to assess, maintain or restore their state of health, including the prescription, administration and provision of medication and medical devices;
• public providers of post-secondary or higher education.

These rules must be established so as not to substantially impede consumer access to out-of-court resolution procedures for consumer disputes.

Grounds on which a case may be rejected

Out-of-court dispute resolution bodies may refuse to handle a case for one of the following reasons:

• the claimant has not attempted to contact the other party to discuss the claim and try to resolve the problem directly;
• the dispute has no justification, real, abusive, offensive or otherwise;
• the dispute has been or is being processed by another body for amicable settlement, an arbitration court or a judicial court in Luxembourg or abroad;
• the claim concerns an amount that is less or greater than a predetermined financial threshold. This threshold must not substantially impede consumer access to out-of-court resolution procedures for consumer disputes;
• the claimant has not lodged their claim with the body within the time frame set by this entity. This time frame must be a period of at least one year from the date on which the claim was made to the other party;
• resolving the problem would severely impede the operations of the out-of-court dispute resolution body;
• the claim does not involve a contractual dispute between a consumer and a professional.

Within 3 weeks of receiving the full claim, the body must inform the parties whether it has accepted or refused to handle the case.

This information must be provided:

• in writing; or
• on another durable medium (e.g. by email).

If the case is refused, the body must explain the reasons for their refusal.

The consumer and the professional must have enough time to:

• express their point of view; or
• submit their documents.

The body has 90 days to:

• help the parties reach an amicable solution to their dispute; or
• propose an alternative solution.

It must inform the parties of that solution:

• in writing; or
• on another durable medium (e.g. by email).

If the body decides that the problem is particularly complicated, the 90-day period may be extended.

Referring cases to out-of-court settlement bodies is:

• free of charge; or
• subject to minimal costs.

General rules

Each body follows its own specific set of procedures. Information should therefore be sought from the body concerned.

The main rules are as follows:

• the body must have a website informing consumers about its operating rules and procedures. Anyone may submit a request to receive the body's operating rules and procedures on a durable medium:
  • in writing; or
  • by email;
• consumers and professionals may contact the office in question online or offline;
• the parties may communicate by email or by post;
• the parties do not need to engage lawyers. However, they may seek assistance or guidance from a person of their choosing. The out-of-court resolution body must inform them of this right before initiating the procedure.

Terminating an amicable resolution procedure

The parties can withdraw from the procedure at any time.
They must inform the other party and the out-of-court resolution body of their decision within a reasonable time frame:

• in writing; or
• on another durable medium (e.g. email).

Before the procedure is initiated, the out-of-court resolution body must inform the parties of their right to withdraw from the procedure at any time.

Accepting or refusing a proposal made by an amicable resolution body

Before accepting a solution proposed by the body, the consumer and the professional must be informed:

• ​
  • that they may accept or decline the proposed solution;
  • that they may go to court despite having tried to settle their problem out of court;
  • that the solution proposed may be different to a decision made by a court of law;
• of the possible legal implications if they accept the proposal.

The consumer and the professional have a reasonable amount of time for consideration before accepting:

• the proposed solution; or
• an amicable agreement.

Confidentiality

All information and documents submitted or received in the course of the settlement are confidential.

Information that the professional must provide to the consumer

Obligations of professionals for whom amicable resolution is compulsory, and those of professionals who enter into such procedures voluntarily

Out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes:

• is compulsory for professionals if they belong to an association that stipulates this obligation; or
• can be voluntary when the professional has decided to use this type of dispute resolution before entering into the contract.

If a professional established in Luxembourg belongs to one of these 2 categories, they must provide the consumer, before the contract is signed, with information on the competent out-of-court dispute resolution body.
This information shall include, at a minimum, the website address of the body concerned.

The information on the amicable resolution body must be:

• clear; and
• easily understandable for consumers; and
• readily available on the professional's website, if such a website exists; and
• if the professional has standard general terms and conditions, the information on the amicable resolution body must also feature therein.

Obligations of all professionals

If the consumer has directly contacted the professional established in Luxembourg and if the dispute was not solved, the professional has to:

• provide the consumer with information about amicable resolution bodies that are competent in the matter concerned;
• inform the consumer whether or not they agree to refer the case to this body.

The professional must provide this information:

• on paper; or
• on another durable medium (e.g. email).

Proof

If the consumer complains that the professional failed to communicate information about amicable dispute resolution, it is up to the professional to prove:

• that it gave the consumer the information; and
• that the information is accurate.

A clause in the general terms and conditions, or in the contract, requiring the consumer to provide proof that the professional has failed to communicate:

• shall be regarded as unfair; and
• may therefore be declared void at the consumer's request.

Freedom to settle disputes out of court

The consumer and the professional cannot be forced to settle their disputes out of court.

A professional may not request that consumers commit themselves to using the services of an amicable resolution body before any actual disputes materialise, if this rules out the possibility for the consumer to take the matter to court.

However, if the professional is a member of an association that requires it to refer a dispute to an out-of-court resolution body for consumer disputes, it must agree to submit itself to the body if:

• the consumer is in agreement; or
• the consumer requests it.

Statute of limitations

Statute of limitations refers to the expiry of a time period at the end of which someone can no longer go to court.

Out-of-court resolution may take some time if:

• a problem is complicated; or
• if the parties do not reach an agreement.

During this time, the limitation period is suspended.

Procedures

Links